Archpriest Alexander Rentel, assistant professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies at St. Vladimir's, participated in the Fourth International Congress of the Society of Oriental Liturgy. The congress took place at Notre Dame University, Louaize Zouk Mosbeh, near Beirut, Lebanon. During the congress a group of forty international scholars, teachers, and clergy met and presented papers and communications on various aspects of the study of liturgical traditions of the Eastern Christian churches. Amidst the numerous other academic papers and communication delivered at the congress, Fr. Alexander offered a paper entitled, “Liturgical Insights into the Question of Primacy.” there, the members were graciously received by His Grace Bp. Ghattas Hazim, dean of the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology, together with faculty members and seminarians, as well as members of the Balamand Monastery, and the Center for Manuscript Preservation. Society members were able to attend daily Vespers at the monastery as well as hold sessions of the congress at the Institute.
At the conclusion of the congress, at its business meeting, Fr. Alexander was elected Dollar Treasurer of the society. The society also voted to hold its next meeting in 2014 at St. Vladimir’s seminary.
The Society of Oriental Liturgy is a international academic society dedicated to the study of all aspects of various liturgical traditions of the Oriental Churches. It was founded in 2006 by the eminent professor of Eastern Liturgies, Archimandrite Dr. Robert Taft, SJ, and held its first meeting that same year in Eichstätt, Germany. Subsequent meetings have been held Rome, Italy (2008), and in Volos, Greece (2010). Together with Fr. Alexander, Prof. Paul Meyendorff, The Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology at the seminary, is also a member.
View the new SVS Press and Bookstore Website here!
St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s academic press and bookshop are sporting a fresh face on the World Wide Web. With the launch of their new Website, SVS Press and Bookstore aim to provide retail customers with a simple, intuitive online shopping experience, with “back end” software that will allow customers to track and receive updated status reports on their online orders. The newly designed Website was funded with a $20,000 matching grant from the Virginia H. Farah Foundation.
The Very Rev. Dr. Chad Hatfield, seminary Chancellor/CEO, expressed his gratitude and pleasure at the launch, saying, "We have carefully received and responded to constructive criticisms and positive suggestions from our SVS Press devotees. Hopefully the site will meet their expectations, and special thanks goes to the Farah Foundation for their support.”
Theodore Bazil, who is Associate Chancellor for Advancement at the seminary and Senior Advisor to SVS Press and Bookstore, concurred. “This newly designed Website and software, graciously provided for by a grant from the Farah Foundation, will greatly enhance the seminary’s ability to reach our customer base and provide exceptional service and information about our publications and products," he said.
Giving extensive historical background on SVS Press and Bookstore operations, Mr. Bazil continued, “Since its inception in 1968, SVS Press has been integral to the seminary’s mission to serve Christ and His Church through theological education, research, and scholarship. Its books, music and lecture CDs, and children’s titles provide spiritual and intellectual nourishment to Orthodox Christian believers and those seeking information about the Orthodox Church around the globe.”
Indeed, many of the press’s 400 titles, such as those in its Popular Patristics Series, are used regularly in college and university classrooms. Others have reached unusual venues: The Human Kindness Foundation has distributed Father Arseny 1893–1973, the riveting biography of a prisoner in a Soviet gulag, in both English- and Spanish-language versions to 15,000 inmates of all different faiths throughout the U.S. The press’s best-selling title, The Orthodox Way, by Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, has been translated into 14 languages, including Chinese.
“Most important,” noted Mr. Bazil, “is the ‘evangelical’ mission of the press. Many people have been drawn to Orthodox Christianity through reading an SVS Press book.”
Editor-in-Chief at the press, Rev. Dr. Benedict Churchill, commenting on new look of the Website, said, "We've been waiting for the new Website for a while now, and the new look and new functionality should make shopping with us more pleasing for our customers; and our staff should now have an easier time in satisfying our customers. Many thanks to those who have brought the project to this stage!"
The press and its accompanying bookshop also provide vital revenue for the general operations of the seminary: in FY2011, the press and bookstore netted $369,349 in sales, which represented 12% of the seminary’s total operating revenue. This revenue stream becomes increasingly important in a “down” economy, and the new Website is geared to boost sales by both wholesale and retail customers through the offering of several user-friendly features.
Some of these features include:
an improved, aesthetically pleasing design;
a streamlined, easy-to-use shopping experience;
a choice of shipping options with quotes;
online order tracking; and
the ability for special status customers (wholesale customers, church bookstores, Press Club members, and libraries) to view and order based on their respective price and discount.
Deacon Gregory Hatrak, who serves as Marketing and Operations Manager of SVS Press and Bookstore, said he had high hopes for “the new enhancements that the site provides." He enthused, "Customers are better able to search our products, view what is available in digital formats, and choose their own rate of shipping."
View the new SVS Press and Bookstore Website here!
For the second year in a row, the St. Vladimir's Seminary Alumni Association will sponsor a cookout, on the eve of the Feast of the Holy and Great Prince Vladimir, Saturday evening, July 14, 2012.
Please join us for prayer and fellowship, beginning with Great Vespers at 6:30 p.m. and continuing with a cookout and picnic on the seminary's front lawn. Fellow alumni, faculty, staff, seminarians, and chapel friends (and families) are welcome.
RSVP to Protodeacon Joseph Matusiak, Director of Admissions, Financial Aid, and Alumni Relations, at x328 or e-mail: jmatusiak@svots.edu. For further questions, also please contact Pdn. Joseph.
St. Vladimir's Seminary is pleased to announce Dr. Peter Brown, Princeton University's Philip and Beulah Rollins Professor of History, Emeritus, as the presenter for the 30th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Lecture. Titled "Constantine, Eusebius, and the Future of Christianity," the lecture will focus on how Christians approach the study of history. Just prior to the lecture, Dr. Brown will be awarded an Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa, by the Seminary's Board of Trustees and faculty.
Dr. Brown is credited with having created the field of study referred to as "late antiquity" (A.D. 250–800), the period during which Rome fell, the three major monotheistic religions took shape, and Christianity spread across Europe. A native of Ireland, Professor Brown earned his B.A. in history from Oxford University (1956), where he taught until 1975 as a Fellow of All Souls College. He joined the Princeton faculty in 1986 after teaching at the University of London and the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Brown’s primary interests are the transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages and the rise of Christianity, and he has pursued them through investigations into such diverse topics as Roman rhetoric, the cult of the saints, the body and sexuality, and wealth and poverty.
Dr. Brown's presentation will launch the 75th anniversary year of the Seminary (founded 1938), and will be followed by other Jubilee events, culminating in a gala banquet November 7, 2013, at the Glen Island Harbour Club, New Rochelle, NY.
The free and public lecture will be delivered on Friday, January 18, 2013, at 7 p.m. in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building. SVS Bookstore will extend its daily hours past 5 p.m. and will be open prior to and following the lecture.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary is pleased to announce Tim Nieuwsma as its new Major Gifts Officer in the Office for Institutional Advancement. Tim joins the team at SVOTS after 30 years of experience in the business and non-profit world. Tim grew up as an “MK” (missionary kid) in the Philippines and graduated from Wheaton College, before moving into a position as a fundraiser for schools in DuPage County, Illinois.
In the late 1980s Tim and his wife, Ginny, moved to California, settling their family in San Jose. Tim joined Saratoga Investment Company, where he served as a commercial real estate broker for ten years, working with landowners, investors, and developers. It was during this time that Tim discovered the Orthodox Christian faith and was chrismated, along with his family, after a year of soul searching and study. Key people in his spiritual journey have been SVOTS graduates, including priests from the Greek Orthodox and Antiochian Orthodox Archdioceses, and the Orthodox Church in America.
In 1996 Tim moved into the non-profit world, accepting a position to head a company that develops studio, family, and seniors apartments for low-income people in Silicon Valley. Under Tim’s leadership First Community Housing (FCH) rose from near collapse to stability and prominence, garnering regional and national awards, including California’s first and current top producer of LEED certified (Green) affordable apartments. Tim found numerous strategically located sites for FCH, negotiated purchase agreements that enabled affordable development, worked with a complex mix of lenders and government agencies to fund new projects, secured over $40 million from tax credit investment partners, and re-negotiated problematic old FCH debt. He also attracted new board members, hired new staff, assisted in the creation of a new corporate image, and helped generate and form a $10M dollar privately-donated fund to provide ongoing seed money for non-profit developments.
Tim’s non-profit work led to his becoming a founding member of a consulting firm that advised individuals, public agencies, private and non-profit corporations (such as Catholic Charities), hospitals, the county, utility companies, school districts, colleges, investors, and developers. Since 2000 Tim has served in a number of ways: as a member of the Mayor of San Jose’s blue-ribbon Housing Trust Board, as Chairman of the Housing Action Coalition, as a member of the Silicon Valley Housing Leadership Council, as a Rotarian, and as an active member of his parish in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese.
In June Tim completed initial coursework at the Indiana University Fund Raising School. He says he is “delighted to be working for SVOTS.” He has been married to Ginny for 31 years, and is the father of six children and grandfather of five.
St. Vladimir’s Seminary’s summer workshops concluded with an extraordinary Master Class in church choral conducting and singing, taught by Vladimir Aleksandrovich Gorbik, one of the leading practitioners of sacred choral music in Russia today. During the last week in June, 43 participants, mostly from the United States, trained under the master musician, laboring long hours to become proficient in singing and conducting nearly 250 pages of music.
Their efforts—which might be described as including a mixture of blood, sweat, tears, and tremendous grace—were notable. By the end of the week, workshop participants composed a heavenly chorus; they presented a public recital in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium (which brought listeners to tears) and sang the responses at the Vigil and Primatial Divine Liturgy on the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul in the seminary’s Three Hierarchs Chapel. Metropolitan Jonah, primate of the Orthodox Church in America, who presided at the liturgy, thanked Mr. Gorbik at its conclusion for sharing his profound musical gifts with Western musicians, and the choir and student conductors for their hard labor that bore exquisite fruit. His Beatitude further invited Mr. Gorbik to continue to visit and teach in America, in order to “elevate” church singing and conducting in U.S. parishes.
Mr. Gorbik himself, at the end of the Master Class and recital, humbly stated, “The Holy Spirit was with us, the expertise that my students have demonstrated witness to the quality of my work here.” (Read a full and fascinating interview that St. Vladimir’s Seminary held with Mr. Gorbik, on Day 2 of the Master Class, including his ideas on creating "American sounding" music, here!)
Vladimir Gorbik (b. 1970) began his musical studies in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and continued them at the Moscow State Conservatory, completing a specialization in choral conducting in 1998 and in orchestral conducting in 2000. Since 1996 he has served as the choral director at the Moscow Representation Church (Metochion or Podvorye) of the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, and since 1998 has been Artistic Director and Conductor of the professional men’s chorus formed at the Metochion. With this choir he has made over a dozen outstanding recordings of both liturgical services and concert programs.
Mr. Gorbik’s recordings came to the attention of Dr. Vladimir Morosan, president and founder of Musica Russica, the largest publisher of Russian choral music outside of Russia. Noting their exceptional quality, Dr. Morosan sought a way to invite Mr. Gorbik to the United States, to give Americans the opportunity to study the technique, performance practice, and interpretation of Orthodox sacred music on a masterful level. Dr. Morosan, together with SVOTS faculty member, Dr. Nicholas Reeves, Assistant Professor of Liturgical Music, began to coordinate the Master Class, auditioning potential participants and interfacing constantly with Mr. Gorbik via Skype. As a result, a 5-day Master Class, consisting of choral conducting and singing sessions, was set for June 2012 on the seminary campus.
At the end of the choral and conducting workshops, Dr. Reeves reiterated the value of the Master Class, titled, “Interpreting Orthodox Sacred Music,” calling it “an opportunity for participants from the entire world to learn more thoroughly some of the different approaches to singing ecclesial music.”
Dr. Morosan also reflected much upon the ambitious endeavor, saying, “I believe this Master Class was an unqualified success that exceeded all our best expectations. Although I was confident from my acquaintance with Vladimir Gorbik's CDs and later from my personal contact with him over Skype and email that he was genuinely the most gifted Orthodox church choir director in Russia right now and would be capable of offering incredibly valuable insights to anyone who came to hear him, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, it was not necessarily a given that, one: enough qualified people would turn out; and two: they would be receptive to what he had to offer.
“He was unknown, and the Seminary was taking a chance in inviting him,” he continued thoughtfully. “Missteps could have occurred at a number of different levels, and this could have significantly undermined the success of the undertaking. I tried to prepare Mr. Gorbik for that eventuality, and at every step along the way, his response was ‘Whatever God's will is, that is what will be’.”
Indeed, it seemed that by the end of the Master Class, “God’s will” had waived away a web of potential pitfalls and fears. Dr. Morosan enthusiastically enumerated how:
"By God's grace, the Metropolitan came, liked what he saw and heard, and validated it by his remarks and his personal interaction with Mr. Gorbik and the Master Class participants. He expressed the desire that Mr. Gorbik's visits would be repeated and frequent, in order to help raise the level of Orthodox musical culture in the Church in America.
"By God's grace, those in the seminary faculty and community who were there responded to the beauty and majesty of the services, as well as to the sensitivity and attention with which Mr. Gorbik approached the “local” liturgical practice and pacing of the chapel services.
"By God's grace, we had representation not only from SVOTS, but also from St. Tikhon's Seminary; New Skete and Calistoga (monastic communities); the OCA dioceses of the South, New York and New Jersey, Eastern and Western Pennsylvania, Canada, and the Midwest and West; the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; and the Antiochian Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archdioceses. We even had Byzantine Catholics and non-Orthodox participants from choral circles from the U.S., and as far away as Japan.
"By God's grace, there was great rapport and positive interaction with all the conducting students who were chosen by audition. All of them, without exception, personally gained insights and exhibited growth as a result of their experience; they were also impressed and moved by the degree of preparation and personal attention with which the Master Class teacher approached them. Likewise, they were all struck by the incredible generosity of spirit with which Mr. Gorbik offered his “ongoing” involvement with them after the class. Basically, he offered both the conductors and the singers his continued feedback, something that is practically unheard of in secular Master Classes.
"By God's grace, the singers who had been selected by audition, all exhibited a willingness to "put out" extreme effort towards the goal of achieving the summit of musical and liturgical beauty in the services. Though challenged beyond what is common even in professional musical circles, they were all great sports about it, and humbly accepted the gentle but firm urging and prodding of the conductor, as well as pointed personal critique and feedback, which he himself offered in love and humility. The results, both in the recital and in the services, was evident for all to see and hear.
"By God's grace, we were blessed with the presence at the recital of Father Sergei Glagolev, our American "musical elder," who repeatedly expressed his amazement and gratitude at seeing an initial fulfillment of the high musical standards that he himself always espoused. In turn, the church musicians who came from Moscow were incredibly struck by and blessed by his radiant presence.
"In short, there were no apparent negatives in this event. Everyone I spoke with came away enlightened, edified, and inspired. Every purely musical and technical aspect was balanced in a most wonderful way by a spiritual dimension and perspective. Many participants spoke of this as a "mountaintop experience," a most significant event on the American Orthodox musical landscape—one that, they hoped, would be repeated again and again.
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary would like to thank the following donors to the Vladimir Gorbik Master Class,“Interpreting Orthodox Sacred Music”:
FOCA, Fellowship of Orthodox Christians in America ($1000)
Read a full and fascinating interview that St. Vladimir’s Seminary held with Mr. Gorbik, on Day 2 of the Master Class, including his ideas on creating "American sounding" music, here!
On Tuesday morning, June 26th, Dr. Veselin Kesich, who was Professor of New Testament emeritus at St. Vladimir's Seminary, reposed in the Lord. Professor Kesich, after suffering from a heart ailment for many years, passed away surrounded by his children, Gregory and Carol, at his apartment in Scarborough, Maine, where he was in hospice care. A funeral service for him will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Monday, July 2nd, at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, 133 Pleasant Street, Portland, Maine.
Professor Kesich was beloved by generations of alumni of SVOTS, not only for his academic expertise but also for the hospitality and love he demonstrated to students, along with his wife, Lydia (+ 2006), over the several decades they lived on the seminary campus. Students still fondly recall the annual traditional Serbian “Slava” celebrated in their home, honoring Professor’s family patron saint.
Professor Kesich celebrated his 90th birthday last year, having been born March 12, 1921. On that occasion, his son, Gregory, a newspaper reporter, wrote a touching tribute to him in The Portland Press Herald, titled "The View from 90 Includes More Than a Few Surprises." The newspaper piece attests to Professor's unflagging and deep concern for people—all people (even Lindsay Lohan!)—and his equal concern that they minister to each other and to their communities.
Born in Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Dr. Kesich finished the gymnasium in Banja Luka and started studies at Belgrade University. At the end of the Second World War he lived in a Displaced Persons Camp in Italy until he was selected to study theology at Dorchester College in England. In 1949 he came to New York to continue his studies at Columbia University, St. Vladimir's Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary, receiving his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1959.
From 1953–1991 he served on the Faculty of St. Vladimir's, focusing on New Testament Studies, and from 1983–1984 he served as Acting Dean. His other academic appointments included: 1966–86, Faculty Member, Comparative Religion, Sarah Lawrence College; 1965–1974, Adjunct Professor, Serbo–Croatian Literature, New York University; 1962–1963, Visiting Associate Professor, Dept. of Slavic Languages, University of California, Berkeley; and 1959–1963, Visiting Faculty, Comparative Religion, Hofstra University. When time permitted, he taught elective courses in Serbian Church History, which resulted in several journal articles and essays in books: “The Martyrdom of the Serbs: The Church in the Ustashe State, 1941–1945,” “The Early Serbian Church as Described in the Earliest Serbian Biography,” “Bosnia: History and Religion,” and “Kosovo in the History of the Serbian Church.”
Seminarians interested in scriptural studies, especially during the popular onset of Liberation Theology, historical reconstruction, and the secular Feminist Movement, appreciated Professor Kesich’s spiritually balanced and incisive critical analysis of these movements and trends. Memorable were his several articles in that regard, which were published in the St. Vladimir’s Seminary Quarterly (SVSQ, now known as St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, SVTQ): “The Historical Jesus—A Challenge from Jerusalem,” “St. Paul: Anti-Feminist or Liberator?,” and “Paul—Ambassador for Christ, or Founder of Christianity?”.
Always Orthodox in his perspective and a willing witness to his faith, he participated as the Orthodox member of several ecumenical dialogues with Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, and he also served as the President of the Orthodox Theological Society. Additionally, he lectured, participated in panel discussions, and served as a retreat leader to college groups and church gatherings throughout the country. In retirement he had been a guest lecturer at the University of Thessaloniki (1991), at the Summer Institute, Eagle River, Alaska (1997), and in Wells-Next-the-Sea, Norfolk, England (1998).
His most recent book, Formation and Struggles: The Birth of the Church AD 33–200 (2007) fulfilled his desire to re-activate and contribute to The Church in History series published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press (SVS Press), a series designed to present church history from the Orthodox Christian scholarly and theological point of view. His other works, all published by SVS Press, include: with Lydia W. Kesich, The Treasures of the Holy Land (1985); The First Day of the New Creation (Crestwood: SVS Press, 1982); The Gospel Image of Christ: The Church and Modern Criticism (1972; second enlarged edition, 1991); and The Passion of Christ (1965; new introduction 2004).
Professor Kesich is still spoken of by SVOTS Alumni as their gentle teacher who conveyed the Holy Scriptures to them as the Living Word of God. He most recently lived in Portland, Maine, in a retirement community, where he still enjoyed debating biblical texts with the other residents—especially the also-retired Old Testament professor who lived a few doors down.
The entire St. Vladimir's Seminary community mourns his passing, but rejoices in his life, and remembers with profound gratitude the gift of himself and his teaching.
Mr. Boyd grew up in the faith as a member of Holy Transfiguration Church in New Haven, Connecticut, and in St. Alexis Church, in Clinton, Connecticut. He was an active member of his local chapter of the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) when he was a student at the University of Connecticut, from which he earned a business degree in 2008; during that period, he faithfully attended Holy Trinity Church in Willimantic, Connecticut. After graduating from the university, he worked as an intern at the headquarters of Syndesmos, the World Fellowship of Orthodox Christians, in Athens, Greece for several months, before enrolling at St. Vladimir's Seminary. In May 2012, he graduated cum laude, with a Master of Divinity degree from the seminary.
Since 2010, Mr. Boyd has edited the very popoular blog for the Department of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries, "Wonder." In accordance with the Strategic Plan approved at the 16th All-American Council, he plans to expand the department's multimedia and social network opportunities. (Read the full article on the OCA's Website, here.)
Mr. Boyd, upon assuming his duties, may be reached at aboyd@oca.org, or at 203-215-1690.
"It was spiritually uplifting to be here on St. Vladimir's Seminary's campus once more," said Protodeacon Nazari Polataiko, as he completed leading the final session of a 5-day iconography workshop. "The environment, the setting in a place of regular prayer, and the opportunity to work with a group of Orthodox Christian participants made the week a blessing for me."
Protodeacon Nazari, who has led a workshop in iconography for the past four summers on our campus, is a master iconographer. With his wife, Matushka Tatiana, he established the Ss. Alipij and Andrew Rublew Icon Studio in 1996, in Canada. Protodeacon Nazari is a graduate of Kosiv Art School, and Matushka Tatiana is a graduate of the Vyznytcia Art College in Ukraine; additionally, PDn. Nazari has studied under such master iconographers as Archimandrite Zinon of Pskov, and Dmitri Andreyev, of the Prosopon School in New York City. The Polataikos write icons in a Russo-Byzantine style, using egg tempera and gold leaf, and employing traditional materials and techniques.
This past week, Pdn. Nazari helped 8 workshop members produce two traditional icons, the "Face of Christ," and the "Theotokos and Child." Taking workshop participants through the ancient handed-down steps of icon-painting—from gessoing a board, to creating paints from egg yolk and natural minerals, to layering color on the saintly figures, to goldleafing halos—Pdn. Nazari patiently taught his students and watched as brilliant images emerged from their once plain wooden boards.
"In other workshops," Pdn. Nazari noted, "my students are usually not Orthodox Christians. But here, at St. Vladimir's, I have the unique privilege of working with many participants who are able to 'digest' all the information I impart about icons, without 'hiccuping'!
"That, for me," he continued, "is a unique experience. I also am glad to see students come back to me each summer for instruction; seeing their progress makes the yearly workshop all the more interesting."
His Eminence was also well known for his preaching in the Holy Metropolis of Messenia, and, in a broader ecclesial context, he served as secretary to the Holy Synod on matters of Interchurch Affairs. He himself authored several books, and he received an award from the Theological Academy of Athens for his book The Fifth Ecumenical Council.
Starting today, in St. Constantine in Church in Preveza, his body will lie in repose for veneration. On Saturday, June 23rd at 11 a.m., the Divine Liturgy with the funeral service will be celebrated, at which the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, His Beatitude Ieronymos II, will preside.
